For golfers hoping to play the Members Club at Grande Dunes, one of Myrtle Beach’s most exclusive clubs, 2020 has been a good year.

The Nick Price-Craig Schreiner design opened for limited public play in April and underwent a summer renovation project that significantly enhanced the course’s playability and conditioning.

Schreiner led the project, which concluded when the course reopened on August 21, and it was highlighted by the installation of new TifEagle Bermudagrass greens and a comprehensive overhaul of the 15-year-old course’s bunkers.

The Members Club opted to install TifEagle, a hybrid strand of Bermuda that mimics the appearance of the bentgrass it replaced while providing a heartier putting surface. The hybrid strands of Bermuda thrive in the Southern heat and TifEagle, in particular, handles the area’s occasionally cool winter weather, providing greens that are outstanding throughout the year.

While new greens attract much of the attention, it was Schreiner’s work on the bunkers that most enhanced the experience at the Members Course. More than 60,000 square feet of bunkers were removed, a decision that has enhanced playability.

Most notable among the bunkers removed was the pair of traps that were behind the 14th green. Those bunkers weren’t visible from the fairway and a shallow green allowed balls to run through the putting surface, setting up a downhill bunker shot on a green that sloped from back to front.

A trip to those bunkers was to penal and the sand has been replaced by a collection area that makes recovery easier.

Every remaining bunker was stripped of sand, cored and new drainage installed. The impact has been dramatic.

The Members Course, which had previously struggled with standing water in bunkers, is now able to endure heavy rain and rebound quickly.

“Everybody is elated with the bunkering,” said Brian Vest, the head golf professional at the Members Club.

The same could be said of the feeling golfers have of the Members Club experience. The course features generous fairways, natural beauty, and the type of service and attention to detail one would expect at a private club.

The Members Club at Grande Dunes is a tee time golfers will be in search of in 2021.